Craveable Brands has appointed Samantha Bragg as Oporto chief executive officer.

The news is confirmation that Bragg has been doing a good job as acting CEO of the fast food chain for the past few months.

It’s been something of a revolving door for the Portuguese chicken brand’s top job: former CEO Helen Moore’s short tenure was preceded by a caretaker role held by former operations head and long-standing franchisee Adrian Pinazza. He stepped in after CEO Craig Tozer moved on from the brand in 2019 after four years heading up the business.

Bragg’s official welcome to the C-Suite is recognition of her strengths, agility and passion, according to Oporto’s brand news, and she brings comprehensive experience in consumer strategy and behaviour, along with strong strategic and communication skills.

Karen Bozic, group CEO at Craveable Brands, said “I personally want to thank Sam for the speed with which she stepped up into this role and I am excited to partner with her and the team as we deliver on our business strategy and goals.”

Bragg believes it’s an exciting time to be leading the business.

“Being agile and able to respond to customer trends and needs over the last year has positioned Oporto strongly for future growth and I am excited to become a permanent part of its iconic story,” she said.

Over the past 18 months Oporto has seen exponential growth, fast tracked innovation and the long-standing plans implemented.

“I envisage a very busy year of expansion! Our strategy for the next three years includes opening 15 to 20 restaurants a year. Customer trends in 2020 brought to the forefront what a modern day customer expects from the brands they interact with and we want to respond to that. I’m excited to present customers with a broad range of resilient options” said Bragg.